Model Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes Committed During and In Relation to the Armed Conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia

The objective of the Model Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes Committed during and in relation to the Armed Conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia (Model Strategy) is to stimulate the relevant institutions to adopt an official state strategy for the prosecution of war crimes committed in the armed conflicts during the 1990’s on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and provide a comprehensive, informative and objective contribution to the production of this Strategy.

The Ninth issue of the bulletin through ACCESSION towards JUSTICE

The ninth issue of the bulletin through ACCESSION towards JUSTICE has been published!

The ninth issue of the Bulletin conveys a discussion with the European Parliament Rapporteur on Serbia, Mr David McAllister, regarding the necessity of dealing with the legacy of the past for a state striving to become an EU member, and current endeavours to establish and apply mechanisms of transitional justice in Serbia.

A researcher at the University of Magdeburg, Ms Katarina Ristić, analyzes the consequences of the policy of conditionality demanding from Serbia to cooperate with ICTY, which has been applied by the EU for years, and its contribution to the recognition and acknowledgment of responsibility for crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

The column dedicated to the news contains an overview of the most recent events in the field of transitional justice and Serbia’s EU integration process in the period January – April 2015.

Send us your opinion and comments on the bulletin and/or topics that it initiates to the e-mail address towardsJUSTICE@hlc-rdc.org. Discussion is also welcome on Twitter/#towardsJUSTICE.

Download your copy of the bulletin here.

(srpski) Ljajić: Svest potrebnija od spomenika – Mihajlović: Suočili smo se mnogo puta

Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.

HLC receives award for fight against discrimination

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has received an award for its contribution to the fight against discrimination during 2014. The award is given by the Coalition for the Fight Against Discrimination as an acknowledgment of individuals, organizations, institutions, companies, and media, who have made the greatest efforts in the fight against discrimination against minority and marginalized groups during the year, or who have contributed to the development of the equality of all citizens in Serbia.

A Model of the Law on Civilian Victims of War Presented

The Center for Advanced Legal Studies (CUPS) and the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented on April 17, at the Media Center in Belgrade, a Model Law on the rights of civilian victims of human rights violations committed during and in connection with the armed conflicts in the period 1991-2001 (the Model Law). The presentation was attended by representatives of associations of victims and victims’ family members, NGOs, the media, the EU Delegation to Serbia, embassies and international organizations, the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor and the Democratic Party.

(srpski) O pravima civilnih žrtava ratova 1991-2001

Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.

(srpski) Vraćanje dostojanstva žrtvama

Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.

Model law on the rights of civilian victims of human rights violations committed during and in connection with armed conflicts in the period 1991-2001

The Model law on the rights of civilian victims of human rights violations committed during and in connection with the armed conflicts in the period 1991-2001 was drafted for the purpose of providing assistance, support and protection to persons, who were civilian victims of the wars or in connection with the wars waged on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and for the purpose of the acknowledgement of their suffering. The foundation of the Model law was the HLC’s practice in the representation of victims in lawsuits for the compensation of damages and for the realization of the rights according to the now applicable Law on the rights of civilian invalids of war. The solutions proposed in this Model law have been adjusted to the needs of the victims and based on the comparative analysis of the existing solutions in the field of reparation of victims of serious violations of human rights, and the analysis of all drawbacks in the existing framework in the Republic of Serbia for the purpose of its harmonization with the international standards in this field.

You can download the Model law on the rights of civilian victims of human rights violations committed during and in connection with armed conflicts in the period 1991-2001 here.

(srpski) Slučaj Hadžić i Šešelj: Bolest se isprečila pravdi

Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.

Court of Appeals in Belgrade: Responsibility of the state for the murder of Croats from Vojvodina not affected by the statute of limitations

The Court of Appeals in Belgrade has rendered a ruling (available only in Serbian) upholding the appeal filed by Stjepan Oskomić against the judgment of the Basic Court in Belgrade in the lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia, on account of of the responsibility of the state in the murder of his parents, a crime committed in July 1993 in the village of Kukujevci, and has remanded the case for a new trial. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), in its capacity of representative of Stjepan Oskomić in this lawsuit, holds that the ruling of the Court of Appeals is just and in accordance with the law, and that it clearly points to the errors in the actions of the first instance court in the case at hand, which has been pending for nine years now.